Tuberculous meningitis is the most serious manifestation of tuberculosis, with mortality in approximately 50% of HIV co-infected people. A major factor contributing to the poor outcome of tuberculous meningitis is delayed diagnosis due to a lack of rapid, accurate diagnostic tests. Until recently, these tests were restricted to smear microscopy of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and microbiological culture. The former tends operationally to be of low sensitivity and the latter often renders a result too late to be clinically meaningful. The diagnosis of drug-resistant disease presents further difficulties.

中文翻译：

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结核性脑膜炎的诊断检查。

结核性脑膜炎是结核病最严重的表现，大约50％的HIV合并感染者死亡率很高。导致结核性脑膜炎预后不良的主要因素是由于缺乏快速，准确的诊断测试而导致诊断延迟。直到最近，这些测试还局限于脑脊液涂片显微镜检查（CSF）和微生物培养。前者在操作上往往灵敏度低，而后者往往使结果太迟而无临床意义。耐药性疾病的诊断提出了进一步的困难。